Stir-Fried Chicken with Cabbage

When my friend Betsy suggested this cookbook to me my first complaint was that it didn't have any pictures.  Foodies will tell you that we eat with our eyes first and I have to agree.  Pictures of the recipes was one of the main reasons I wanted to write this blog in the first place!

If you have the HTCE app it highlights one recipe a week and along with a note a picture of the recipe is sent out.  Well the picture that was sent out last week had me very intrigued!  I'm only sorry that my picture isn't as good theirs was.

Not only did this dish taste wonderful but it was quick and easy!  The best part is that other than the Napa cabbage I usually have all the other ingredients on hand.  I did use about two pounds of dark meat chicken because the cabbage was over one and a half pounds.  This was so good we will be having it again next week!  As you can see from the picture we served it over rice.

HTCE p.643
Full Recipe

Simpler Baked Brown Rice (Variation)

Recipe: Simpler Baked Brown Rice (variation of Simper-than-Pilaf Baked Rice)
Page: HTCE p. 453
Rating: *****

I've cooked A LOT of brown rice in my day, and I've tried several methods. For a while, my favorite was a Cook's Illustrated version where you baked it, but first, I had to bring some water and butter to a boil, then pour it over the rice in a different pan, then cover the pan with 2 layers of foil, and then I had kids... and any extra pot/step was thrown out with the baby's bath water.

So, I started boiling it and just draining off the extra water at the end. Not bad. In fact, Mark gives us this version somewhere--actually, it's the very first recipe in the grains chapter. And, it's easy and predictable.

But then.... I tried this recipe. And. It's. AMAZING. PERFECT brown rice--distinct grains, good flavor, frees up an eye on the stove, even reheats well. I leave out the cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom, use the butter, and add 1 t. salt and a sprinkle of pepper per batch. Good news: you can even triple this recipe with the same timing and results!!! I use my Le Creuset wanna-be enameled cast iron 5-quart dutch oven from Aldi so that I have a nice, heavy, tight-fitting lid--that's important so the steam can't escape. I think Mark's liquid allowance is a little generous and may cut it back a touch next time.

Highly recommended!!!

Muffins, Infinite Ways

Recipe: Muffins, Infinite Ways
Page: HTCE p. 832
Rating: *****

If I've rated these before, then just know they merit AT LEAST 2 ***** ratings. I make these almost weekly. You can't go wrong. They're delicious and just the right size. I've made muffins regularly for 15 years now--I even have a cookbook that is just for muffins. But this is now my go to recipe. I usually use oil instead of butter because I'm lazy. Otherwise, I follow directions per.

Oh--I also usually use half white whole wheat flour.

Variations that our family loves: Banana Nut Muffins (using half whole wheat flour and skipping the nuts), Blueberry Muffins (a real fave around here; leave out the cinnamon, the lemon zest is wonderful but I don't always have time/lemons), Cranberry Muffins (another fave), Coffee Cake Muffins (yum yum yum!), and the Savory Muffins (good with cheese in them instead of the onion).

Enjoy!

Skillet Pork Chops, 8 Ways

Recipe: Skillet Pork Chops, 8 Ways

Page: HTCE p. 720

Rating: ****

These were a touch dry, hence the 4* rating. I think cooking pork chops this way makes it very easy to overcook them. Nonetheless, they were tasty, and the pan sauce was delicious. Easy, too. I added some Italian seasoning to the pork chops with the salt and pepper since my mom used to cook them that way. Can't wait to try some of the variations.

Blueberry Cobbler

Recipe: Blueberry Cobbler

Page: HTCE p. 883

Rating: ****

Easy! I used a pastry blender and then a fork to mix the crust instead of a food processor. I used 3 cups of blueberries and 1 cup of peaches. The crust/topping was great--kind of like a biscuit. The filling was quite runny since there was no cornstarch in it. We enjoyed it a lot; if you want a thicker filling base, you might need to add cornstarch to it.

French Toast

Recipe: French Toast

Page: HTCE p. 794

HTCEV p.177

Full Recipe
Rating: *****

This was truly amazing.... I should confess that I used day old (homemade) French bread that I sliced and left sitting out all night. I also made sure I soaked it well in the egg/milk mixture. I didn't add the optional sugar, used whole milk, and cinnamon instead of vanilla. My daughter wasn't a huge fan (don't know what her problem was) but my boys ate it up. I personally loved it. We served it with syrup.

Fish Baked in Foil (or a Casserole Dish)

Recipe: Fish Baked in Foil

Page: HTCE p. 571

Rating: *****

This is a terrific summer recipe to have on hand. Cooking time is minimal and the dish can be assembled ahead of time! I followed the suggestion to "toss it all together in a covered casserole" because I was feeling too lazy to wrap everything in little packets. It was delicious. My camera's memory card is full, or I would have snapped a pic of this recipe for sure; it's very pretty.

I used frozen cod fillets. I used fresh oregano instead of the parsley or basil--I think the parsley and/or basil would have been more flavorful and next time will go with those. I also put some thin lemon slices on top as suggested under the "Fish Baked in Foil with Vegetables" variation (I used almost one whole lemon for this). Definitely added a nice touch.

Oh--and my kids ate it up like crazy! Added bonus.

We ate it with salad, peas, and leftover pita bread with hummus. Next time, I'll serve some good bread with it instead of the pita (unless I have it leftover again!).

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Page: HTCE p. 880

Rating: ****

We are big fans of chocolate chip cookies at my house, but we are also chocolate chip cookie recipe snobs. It takes a really great chocolate chip cookie to please us: a touch of salt in the dough, bittersweet chips, good texture--a cross between chewy and crispy....

These cookies make the grade: they are chewy in the middle and crispy on the outside. The crucial salt is present in the dough and Mark even recommends bittersweet chocolate. They're a touch sweet. I might use a bit less vanilla next time.

Our biggest problem was cookie spread: in the oven, the edges practically ran over the cookie sheet leaving a small clump of dough (and the chips) in the middle of each cookie. This made for pretty good texture overall, but I like my chips to be evenly dispersed. I tried them as little frozen dough balls, too, thinking the chilled butter would work better. It did help. Next time, I think I'll chill them in the fridge for a bit, then form them into balls and flatten them once they're on the cookie sheet (one might almost think I'd just seen the folks on America's Test Kitchen do this to one of their cookie recipes the other night...).

So, 4 stars as is. If they work better in the oven once I try my newest theory, I'll update this.

Oh--my batch yielded exactly 2 dozen, and my cookies are generous scoops of dough. It's hard to measure the final cookie size because I think they'd be smaller around and taller/puffier if I tried the flatten-before-baking trick mentioned above. I'm guessing they're about 5-inches in diameter! (but, Mom, I've only had two...)

Baked Beans

Recipe: Baked Beans

Page: HTCE p. 416

Rating: ***

I've made these twice, now, and both times the beans weren't quite as soft as I wanted them to be. I've read that homemade baked beans are frequently not as mushy, but I think mine could have been softer. The flavor was *** when prepared exactly as written. I made a few changes the second time around and definitely upped the flavor component to ****. I think there are some tricks, here, if you want to make homemade beans that taste like the canned/restaurant variety:

1. cook your beans until almost as soft as you want them before baking them with the seasonings and/or plan to bake them a while. They will soften in the oven, but it could take hours.
2. Plan to bake them several hours--the seasonings just get better and better that way.
3. They'll reheat fine, so you may want to make these the day before serving and leave them a touch runnier than you need (they'll get drier as they sit). Then, you can be sure they're as tender as you want and you can just reheat the day you need them.
4. You won't need 8-oz of bacon. I used about 1/3 of a pound or so and chopped it. I sauteed the onion with the bacon and poured the whole mess into the bean pot :).
5. I also added 1/4 cup of brown sugar, reduced the mustard to one teaspoon (ground), and added 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (mentioned in the "Ideas for Baked Beans" part). I tasted them as they cooked and made sure there was enough salt once the bacon flavor had permeated (I didn't want to oversalt accidentally since bacon is pretty salty).

I recommend trying them. I'll try them again for sure. It's just one of those recipes that will take some practice/tweaking since everyone has different ideas of what the best baked beans taste like. They're much cheaper than canned and do taste better overall. They're also quite easy; they just take a bit of time to cook.

Brownies

Recipe: Brownies

Page: p. 881

Rating: *****

I think I'm the one making the most desserts around here (or at least, making the most from Bittman and rating them). Anyway, I don't know why anyone would make brownies from a box when they could make the nearly-as-simple-and-far-more-decadent version a la Mark. Super easy!

I didn't pour the melted chocolate/butter mixture into a different bowl--I just added everything into that one pot. They baked in the amount of time given but are SUPER soft when you pull them out. Letting them cool in the pan is a necessity, but they are awfully good when still pretty warm and gooey...not that I would be that eager to try them of course.... and I added the last of my Andes chocolate candy pieces.... (about 3/4 cup) and will have another brownie when fully cooled just to confirm the ***** rating....

I've had slightly better homemade brownies, but they were more difficult to prepare. For ease of preparation, fudgy nature, top chocolate flavor--these get a ***** rating. This will be my go to brownie recipe when we suddenly get that brownie craving!

Spaghetti with Pesto

Recipe: Spaghetti with Pesto

Page: HCTE p. 507

Rating: *****

How can you go wrong with freshly cooked pasta and homemade pesto? Enough said.

Spaghetti with Butter and Parmesan

Recipe: Spaghetti with Butter and Parmesan

Page: HCTE p. 506

Rating: *****

Move over, Macaroni and Cheese! This is one of our go to recipes--quick and tasty. It's less fattening than mac-n-cheese, too, since it's not loaded with cream sauce on top of the cheese. It does have a significant amount of butter in it, but otherwise it wouldn't taste good or keep you full for any length of time. We add peas to it (an addition he recommends), but it's good plain and simple. It benefits from a sprinkling of good salt at the table.

Here's the recipe link.

Pasta Carbonara (Variation)

Recipe: Pasta Carbonara (variation of Pasta with Pancetta and Pecorino)

Page: HCTE p. 506

Rating: ****

I'm a big fan of Pasta Carbonara: it's quick, relatively healthy (the bacon and eggs provide your protein--they're not any more fattening than an entree that's meat based!), and inexpensive. It's also tasty. Mark's version is great; you do have to dirty up a few dishes in the process and have everything ready to go as soon as the pasta is done cooking. That being said, the process is easy to master. I heat a big pottery bowl with hot water (from the tap) and let it sit while I saute the bacon (I do not add all the drippings to the eggs/cheese later like he suggests). I also grate the cheese. Then I start a pot of water boiling for the pasta. I add the pasta to the boiling water when the bacon is nearly done. I have the eggs beaten and ready to go in another bowl. When the bacon is done and cooled slightly, the pasta is about 2 minutes away from being done, and the eggs and cheese are ready and waiting, the fun begins: dump out the hot water from the big bowl, add bacon, eggs, and cheese to the bowl. Drain the pasta and immediately toss it with the bacon and eggs. The eggs will cook enough to be safe, but should give you a creamy sauce. Mmmmmm

Stir-Fried Vegetables

One night I found myself needing to empty the fridge of some extra vegetables before they went bad. What better way to use them all than to stir fry them all together!! Vegetables shown: spinach, carrots, onion, broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini, red bell pepper, and mushrooms. This is one of the most colorful dishes I have ever made! I just used Mark's advice and cooked the harder things first and added the softer things at the end. I started with the sesame oil, instead of at the end as the recipe suggests, but finished the dish with soy sauce and white rice.

I like my vegetables a little crunchy, so I didn't let them cook as long as I could have, but If you're using frozen or fewer crunchy vegetables, you could adjust the time as needed.

7 Seasonings or Crunchy Bits to Add to Stir-Fried Vegetables:

Here I added some walnuts because that was what I had. What a great idea! They added just a little bit of flavor and yet another pleasant crunch.

HTCE p. 241
HTCEV p.242-243

Table: 18 Variations of Vinaigrette

This is a great table for making your own salad dressings. When we buy salad dressing in the store it comes with so many extras including a ton of sugar and even MSG. With just a few ingredients you can make whatever vinaigrette you had your heart set on, without going to the store.

Off of this table I have made the Soy Vinaigrette many, many times. It is great on top of broccoli slaw with nuts and mandarin oranges. When I have it on hand I add the Pampered Chef Asian Seasoning to this vinaigrette for an extra kick.

HTCE p. 201
HTCEV p.763

Real Popcorn

I love, love, love this recipe. First of all it is a lot cheaper to pop your own popcorn then to buy pre-packaged microwave kind, and since there is a lot less packaging it is better for the environment too. Also, as Michael Pollan would point out, you'll eat less "junk" food when you have to go through the trouble of making it yourself (although, really this recipe is not much trouble)!

I had been popping popcorn and using the butter-flavored oil, but using this classic recipe has been so much better! I use vegetable oil to pop the corn but then I do use the melted butter to toss the popped corn. Warning for making this in the winter though: whatever bowl you will be tossing your popcorn in, you might want to pre-heat it as we had some butter re-solidify at the bottom of the bowl.

I have tired popping in olive oil, but I didn't find that it added any olive oil flavor, so I wanted to save my EVOO for other uses.

HTCE p. 81
HTCEV p.292
Full Recipe